Dragon's Legacy
by Guardian Munny
Summary: The Monkey Team has landed on a strange planet. The monkeys were kidnaped and their powers are useless. Chiro must win a dragon race to save them. COMPLETE!
1. Help Me Please

Dragon's Legacy

Declaimer- I don't own the monkey team Ciro Nieli does. But I own the other characters. So sue me! Actually... don't sue me.

Enjoy

Chapter one: Help Me Please 

A dragon's watchful yellow-green eyes peered out of the darkness. It's keen ears listened to the commotion outside of it's marble stall. It stood in the back where it was shrouded in darkness.

_Why do those dragons not speak? We are more intelligent and yet they do not show it. They allow themselves to be pampered and treated as pets._ The dragon watched as the other dragons allowed themselves to be saddled and bridled like horses. It snorted in disgust, a smoke ring from it's nostrils rose to the stall ceiling.

The dragon still held it's wild and proud nature. It had only been taken from the wild, to be trained as a racing dragon a few months before. It was still young, only fourteen so the humans figured they could break it of it's wild habits and make it ride able. The dragon snorted again.

The dragon's eyes narrowed. A man with chocolate brown eyes with matching hair walked into the dragon's view. _Simon. You have tried with no success to break me of my wild nature and it wont_ _work now._ Next to Simon was a boy with ice blue pools for eyes and wild black hair.

"...Dragon, please can I borrow one for the race? My monkeys were taken from me. I can only save them by wining this race." The boy said. His gaze fell on The dragon in the stall and he stopped.

"Well... I suppose I'm to kind hearted to say no." _Kind hearted?_ The dragon snorted. Simon followed the boy's gaze. "Oh, no you don't want her. She's a brat and a snob. To proud for her own good."

_Bratty? A snob? I'll show you!_ The dragon roared bolted into the light. She dug her talon's into the ground to help her stop at the stall door. Her snout was an inch from the bars on the door, smoke streamed from her flared nostrils. Her eyes were narrowed slits.

The dragons and humans near by jumped and skitted away from the door. Only Simon and the boy remained unmoved. "Well don't go and enrage your self for I'm only telling the truth." Simon said and he walked up to the door and placed his hand on the handle. "If you are willing to cooperate and let the boy ride you, you will be able to stretch your legs and wings more. You'd do better on the course then some of these other dragons."

The dragon eyed Simon suspiciously before nodding. Simon opened the door and stepped next to the dragon who obediently lowered her head so he could take hold of her horn. Simon led the dragon out into the open. The boy gasped in awe.

Before him stood a dragon so large Simon would have to stand on his toes just to reach her lower shoulder. Her muzzle was a midnight purple as were her sharp talons and horns. The rest of her was a light violet. Her yellow-green eyes stood out on her violet face. On each wing was a clawed hand. Each wing could stretch 100 ft each at least.

Simon released the dragon's horn. "I'm going to get her riding equipment, I'll be right back." With that he walked away.

The dragon raised her large head and spread her wings. The boy thought she was about to take off but sighed in relief when the dragon folded them again. The dragon yawned and her dagger sharp fangs caught the sun's light. Her long pink tong curled at the tip. When she shut her mouth with a snap.

Simon came back pulling a wagon with heavy riding gear in it. The dragon lied down and rested her head on the ground to make things easier for him. She sniggered when Simon had trouble putting the saddle on her back. Then carefully lifted her belly off the ground so he could strap it on. Then she placed her belly on the ground again. Again she offered no help when he put the bridle on her head.

"Um... if I'm gonna ride her shouldn't I know her name? That way I won't be saying 'hey dragon.'" The boy asked.

"Oh, right. We don't know what her true name is so I've always called her Nimbus."

The dragon rolled her eyes. "My real name is Icefire, kid"

Both humans jumped. "You can talk." Was all Simon managed to say.

"I'm, Chiro."_ Well at least the boy has more sense._


	2. The Course

Dragon's Legacy

Declaimer- I don't own the monkey team Ciro Nieli does. But I own the other characters.

Chapter two: The Course 

"Alright Chiro I will give you a quick summary of the race track. That way it won't be of any surprise to you as exactly what you'll encounter.

"The racing track is a course of endurance over 7 of elements. Desert, rocky mountain, forest, plain, swamp, arctic, and air. I will in detail, explain each course.

"Desert. You must make it across a hot and humid desert. You must find the resources to survive on your own and you mustn't get lost. Knowing Icefire you won't have to worry.

"Rocky mountain. You must climb over a mountain that is very dangerous. The stones and rocks are loose and could easily out from underneath you. At a certain point there will be little or no footing.

"Forest. You must travel through a dense tropical forest. It is almost impossible to squeeze in between the trees. It constantly rains so the ground is slippery and mucky in some areas.

"Plain. You will cross a flat stretch of land with grass up to Icefire's chest. The grass will be extremely difficult to maneuver through. Beware there are more dangerous animals there then the other areas." involuntarily Icefire trembled.

"Swamp. You will travel through a marshy land. There is much more water then there is land. The water is infested with crocodiles, with razor sharp teeth that could tear the thin membrane on Icefire's wing or eat Chiro alive." Chiro shuddered.

"Arctic. You will travel across a frigid land. The snow is deep and the winds harsh. There are hidden patches of ice, but very few. Not to mention there will be vicious blizzards.

"Lastly air. Now is where you will test your flying skills. You will fly with other dragons and try to knock each other out of the air on the way to the finish line. Don't worry there is water bellow so no one will be harmed in the fall. At the end you must prove your aim with your fire breath.

"They will be in the order as follows: arctic, rocky mountain, desert, plains, forest, swamp, then air. The rules are simple. You are not allowed to fly until the air part of the course. You are not allowed to use your fire breath until the target part (that includes ice breath). You both must make it to the finish line in order to be victorious. So you must not allow Chiro to freeze, starve, die of thirst, or get heat stroke." Chiro gulped as each possibility of death was recited.

Icefire and Chiro nodded. Chiro had a very determined expression on his face. He seemed to be fearless.

Simon looked at his watch. "You'd better get going the starting line the race is going to start soon. "

Chiro nodded then turned to Icefire. Who still lay on the ground. "Hop on kid." Icefire said as she extended her wing so Chiro could climb into the saddle. Once he was strapped in with Simon's help Icefire instructed him on what to do next "tie the reins loosely onto one of the spines on my neck. Then grab a hold of one the other spines for balance." Chiro did as instructed. Simon came up beside Icefire and she stood and lowered he head so Simon could reach a horn and guide her to the starting line. As they walked they talked.

" Oh before I forget this race could take days even weeks." At seeing Chiro's dismay Simon added, "but your monkeys will be treated well. They wouldn't want the race prizes to die or something."

That didn't seem to cheer Chiro up any. "Don't worry, I just came from the wild a few months ago. I still have my wild nature, the other dragons have ether forgot their's, or they were born here with out it." Icefire reassured. Chiro seemed to cheer up a little as they reached the starting line, and Simon let go of Icefire's horn. On the side of the track in clear view was a platform with a cage. In the cage where 5 robotic monkeys. They were looking helplessly out at the racers.

Icefire pitied them knowing how it felt. She decided to give them hope. She acted out to get their attention by spreading her wings and beating the air with them while roaring.

This caught the monkeys' attention. When the looked at her Icefire turned so they could see Chiro. The monkeys began to call to him in monkey language. To Icefire's surprise Chiro called back in monkey.

This caused every dragon and human to stop and watch, the dragons with their unique tong knew what was being said, the humans were clueless. "Don't worry monkey team, if I can win the race with Icefire here." Chiro patted her neck, "you'll be free, it'll take a while though. Could be days or maybe even weeks."

Hope was visible in the monkeys' eyes along with happiness and sorrow. "We know you will come through for us Chiro." A silver monkey with ice blue pools for eyes, just like the boy, said. The other monkeys nodded in agreement.

"Please hurry, Chiro," A yellow monkey with bright pink eyes said.

"We're counting on you, kid." A red monkey with black abyss black eyes said.

"Have fun Chiro but don't forget to save us." A green monkey with the same black eyes as the red monkey said.

Lastly a blue monkey with the same black eyes as the two before him, spoke. "We know you will come trough for us."

Icefire spoke to them in the monkey language. "Don't worry I'm fresh from the wild and have sharper instincts than the other dragons." The monkeys seemed surprised but they nodded.

"Dragons take your positions!" the announcer called."

Icefire backed up behind the line where a deployed stall surrounded them. She stood still every muscle tense. Her eyes narrowed.

Tubes were lowered and conceded to the stalls. These tubes led out into the arctic and onto the racing course. Once the tubes were connected every one was silent. A loud bell sounded.


	3. Arctic Blizzard

Dragon's Legacy

Declaimer- I don't own the monkey team Ciro Nieli does. But I own the other characters.

Chapter Three: Arctic Blizzard 

Every dragon launched out of their stalls at the same time and into the tubes. The air was filled with the sound of pounding feet. Icefire ignored all of it. Her head was level with her body as she straightened out her neck.

Chiro leaned forward to get less wind in his face. He closed his eyes when the wind began to make them sting. He felt Icefire's rippling muscles beneath him.

They were close to the arctic and dragons were already beginning to tire. But not Icefire, she was still going strong. By the time her feet touched the snow only 5 out of 12 including herself were still running.

The snow slowed the dragons. Icefire plowed through the snow. _I'm going to have to hunt for two now. _The wind began to pick up. Icefire instantly new what it was. _Blizzard. I will only stop if it gets really bad. _

Soon it was so bad Icefire couldn't see more than 100 ft in front of her. _Now would be a good time to stop. _Icefire turned her head to see Chiro. He was shivering and would freeze to death if she didn't do something.

"Chiro!" She shouted over the storm's wind. Chiro looked at her. " unstrap your self from the saddle!" Chiro tried but his fingers we to cold to unstrap himself. Icefire used the hand like a appendages on her wings to unstrap him.

Chiro slid from her back to the ground. The snow was waist deep on him. Icefire lied down on her side and made sure her wing was stretched out beneath her.

Chiro instantly clambered onto her wing and sat with his back against her belly. Icefire curled around him and draped her other wing over them like a tent so the snow and wind wouldn't get in. " Don't worry Chiro if you stay close to my belly the fire inside me will keep you worm." Chiro nodded and curled up by her belly. _I have to do something to heat him up. But what? My breath, that warm!_

Icefire kept her mouth open and let her warm breath flow over Chiro. She wanted to close her mouth but she new she had to leave it open. She kept breathing in and out, in and out. Soon Chiro stopped shivering. He rolled over to face Icefire.

" Aren't you cold?" he asked.

The question made Icefire chuckle. " No, young one. The fire inside me kept's me warm. Rest, little one, you need sleep."

"I'm not that much younger than you and..." he yawned, "I'm not little." He replied sleepily. "What about you aren't you going to sleep?"

"No I don't need sleep. I can go weeks without sleep. I already slept all day yesterday." She answered.

"Oh..." Chiro's eyes closed signaling that he was asleep. Icefire watched him and continued to allow her warm breath to flow over him.

In his dream Chiro was floating in darkness.

"Chiro," a deep gentle voice called.

"Antauri?" Chiro asked.

"Yes, Chiro? I could sense your distress. We are still connected through the Power Primate. Are you all right?" A silver monkey with ice blue pools for eyes materialized.

"Yes, I am now thanks to Icefire. I had almost froze to death but Icefire let me lie against her belly for warmth ." Antauri nodded. Be careful Chiro, we don't want to lose you ."

"Don't worry you won't."

Antauri walked over to Chiro, who knelt. When Antauri was standing right in front of Chiro, Chiro wrapped his arms around him the silver monkey seemed surprised. "Don't worry I will win the race and free you guys."

"I must go now Chiro." Chiro let go of Antauri.

"Good bye Antauri."

"God bye, chosen one."

The next thing Chiro knew he was lying next to Icefire. Her yellow-green eyes were closed. _I thought she didn't need to sleep for weeks. _Chiro sat up and stretched.

"Good morning, little one." Chiro jumped and seemed annoyed at being called "little one." Icefire still appeared to be sleeping.

"I thought you were asleep."

Icefire opened her bright yellow-green eyes. "Didn't you hear what I told you last night? I don't need to sleep for weeks at a time. I was in a trance that very few dragons can use. Using my mind I searched for something I could hunt so we could eat."

"Find anything?"

"Yes, a herd of ice horns."

"Ice horns?"

"They're sort of like deer except they're white with a single twisting horn in the middle of their forehead."

"Oh."

"By the way the blizzard is over. The other racers are getting up now. Don't look at the snow to long it could blind you."

"What about you?" Chiro asked as he closed his eyes. "Won't it blind you?"

"No, my eyes can adjust to any condition I need them to." Icefire lifted her wing so it was vertical with the very tip pointing toward the sky. The snow slid down her wing and landed with a _thump_ right behind her. Icefire folded her wing.

Chiro slowly opened his eyes and allowed them to adjust to the bright light reflecting of the snow. He stood and stretched his stiff muscles while standing on Icefire's wing. "Chiro I need you to step off my wing so I can stand."

Chiro did as Icefire said. But the moment his feet touched the snow... _fwump _he was in snow that reached his eyes. For a moment surprise shone in his blue eyes then he glared over the snow in agitation. Icefire stood and the snow slid of her scaley body. She folded the other wing.

Icefire lowered her head and gripped the back of the glaring Chiro's shirt with her teeth. She lifted him out of the snow and bent her neck in such away that she could place him in the saddle. Once in the saddle Chiro strapped himself in.

Icefire lifted one foot out of the snow and spread her toes. The webbing in between her toes would act like snow shoes. She placed her foot down in the middle of the snow and it did not sink she did the same for every foot .

She bolted in the direction of the Ice horn herd. She came upon them fast and she pined a young buck under her foot. The pressure caused it's back and neck to snap and it died instantly.

Most of the morning was spent hunting once both of them were satisfied on the focused on the race again. Using her sense of smell Icefire could tell the other dragons were not to far behind them.

But that soon changed. Because the other dragons didn't think of the snow shoe trick. Soon they could see a mountain. And this encouraged Icefire to go faster.


	4. Mountain Scramble

Dragon's Legacy

Declaimer- I don't own the monkey team Ciro Nieli does. But I own the other characters. I'm sorry if I confused anyone I'm new at this and put this story on in a rush so I messed it up. Sorry!

I'm working on Chapter five and six currently.

Chapter Four: Mountain Scramble They reached the bottom of the mountain around a ½ hour. "We better get snow now for water I doubt there is any up there." Icefire said. They ate snow until they could fit no more, then they began their land climb. At first there were no trouble but a few loose stones here or there. Now there were loose stones every other step. They were only 1/4 of the way up when Icefire began to tire, Her determination is what gave her strength to continue.

They were half way up when Icefire found a ledge to rest on. Once on it Icefire lied down on the ledge. Her talons gripped the edge.

Icefire raised her head high and surveyed their surroundings. A few of the others had just reached the bottom of the mountain. Others were still picking their way through the snow and were not to far behind.

This caused Icefire to get to her feet even though she was not quite ready yet. "Icefire you should rest. You are still tiered from the climb up." Chiro said.

"No, we must continue, the others are catching up." Icefire replied and walked over to where she could start climbing again. She reached out one of her fore paws but she froze when she felt the reigns tighten.

"You must rest, Icefire!" Chiro cried, there was obvious strain in his voice from holding the reigns taught. "I can't allow you to continue until you've rested enough!"

Icefire sighed and placed her paw on the ledge. Because Chiro was pulling on the reigns so hard her head almost touched her chest. "Let go Chiro," She said calmly. Chiro hesitated for a moment then did as he was told. Icefire stretched her neck out then turned to face the boy. "I'm fine, we must continue or we might not be able to keep our lead. I can recover when we reach the desert where the sun is warm." Slowly and reluctantly Chiro nodded, there was obvious worry in his eyes.

Icefire returned her attention to the mountain and began to climb. As she climbed there was less, and less rocks and more, and more cracks and notches for her taloned paws.

Soon there was barely and notches or cracks so Icefire had to make her own. By the time they made it to the top Icefire was exhausted. Her body quivered with each panting breath she took.

Chiro patted her scaley neck as a silent praise. Icefire looked over the edge to see they still had an advantage. The others had only just reached the ledge they had left only one or two were resting toward the middle. Icefire looked down the side they were supposed to go down.

She sighed in relief. There was ledging all down the other side. She could easily slide from the other. She began her decent with haste but not without caution.


	5. Desert Travels

Dragon's Legacy

Declaimer- I don't own the monkey team Ciro Nieli does. But I own the other characters.

**Phyco Monkey:** Before I begin this fic. I have a small A/N. Good questions Lmann. The reason Chiro doesn't free the monkeys is this planet was like Soturix 7 his powers don't work. As for the HOW they got there will be revealed in... never mind I'm not going to tell you yet, you'll find out soon though (next chapter). I found out something I thought was interesting. The person who plays Luke Skywalker from Star Warsdoes the voice of the Skeleton King. What's his name... Mark... somthin' I can't remamber hilast name but his first name isMark.Icefire has something to say too.

**Icefire: **Hi, Beastfire! So you know I'm the main character in this story. (Raises her head high and looks proud of herself.)

**Phyco Monkey: **(Sweatdrops) Actually... You're main character #2.

**Icefire: **Aww... Sooo I'm not the main, main character?

**Phyco Monkey: **Nooo, Chiro is.

**Icefire: **Oh..., well at least I'm one of the main characters right? Oh, yeah. Hey beastfire do you think I'm a snob and a brat?

Chapter Five: Desert Travels 

It was evening when Icefire had reached the bottom of the mountain. She turned and looked back. _Good none of the other racers have reached the top yet._ She closed her eyes and went into her special trance. She quickly found some Desert Elk and a pool of water.

Icefire started off at a walk toward the elk. She made sure she was absolutely silent and that she was down wind. When she was close enough to see the herd bolted forward and there was a repeat of what had happened with the ice horns.

Once Icefire and Chiro had satisfied their hunger, Icefire trotted in the direction of the pool of water. They had reached the pool with no problem. Chiro unstrapped himself and slid off Icefire's back and to the ground. He hurried over to the water and the to of them drank 'till nether of them could hold another drop.

"We will travel by night and rest during the day so you shall not get burned." Icefire said, Chiro had no objections. He climbed onto her back and strapped himself in. Icefire stretched her wings and paused for a moment before folding them. "You can sleep on my back, and I'll continue to travel."

"Alright," Chiro yawned. Icefire flattened a few of her spines and Chiro lied down and wrapped his arms around her scaley neck.

Icefire began to run toward the next destination which was to the west. Her taloned paws kicked up sand as she ran. Her gait smooth and flowing, like water, she kept up her stride all night while Chiro slept peacefully.

When the sun began to rise she stopped. "Chiro time to get up." she nudged the boy gently with her snout to wake him.

Chiro groaned and sat up. Icefire chuckled to herself at the perplexed expression on his face. The boy was actually beginning to grow on her. "I'm going hunt and find water and I need you to stay awake so you can eat and drink." Chiro nodded. Icefire went into her trance and soon located more desert elk and water. She snapped out of her trance and galloped off toward the food first.

After their hunger and thirst satisfied they settled down to sun bathe. Icefire lied down and spread her wings and Chiro sat in the shade her wings provided. He had his back against her belly and was getting warmth from the few sun rays that had went through the thin membranes of Icefire's wing. Icefire was still alert even when sun bathing. Her head was raised and her leathery ears were listening for the slightest sound.

"I'm going to go into my trance to try and locate the other racers." Icefire said and closed her eyes.

After a minute or two Icefire opened her eyes again. "Well?" Chiro asked.

"The are still far behind. The closest one is at the pool we just left last night. They had finished drinking and were heading out in a walk, they're most likely tiered and hungry." Icefire concluded. Chiro merely nodded in understanding.

The two of them continued to laze around 'till night fall, they did the usual. Chiro climbed onto Icefire's back and strapped himself in and Icefire galloped off. While there was no sign of sunrise, the stars and silver moon shone brightly in the black sky. Icefire began to see the scenery change, grass was appearing.

Though he was still awake Chiro could not see the change. His eyes didn't have night vision like Icefire's. Chiro began to feel drowsy and aloud himself to slip off to sleep.

**Phyco Monkey:** So? What'd you think? Next chapter you find out how Chiro and the monkeys ended up on this strange dragon planet and how they got captured.

**Icefire:** Please review!


	6. Memory Dreams

**Phyco Monkey:** Thank you everyone for reviewing. Sorry for the wait. My computer doesn't have the Internet and I've been using a floppy disc to hold my stories but recently the floppy disc isn't working so I'm typing this up in the computer lab at school.

**Icefire:** (shoves Phyco Monkey out of the way) Thank you Beastfire for saying I'm not a brat or a snob! On with the chapter!

**Phyco Monkey:** Hey that's my line!

**Icefire:** So what, no one cares.

**Phyco Monkey:** (pouts) I feel so unloved….

Chapter Six: Memory Dreams

Flash Back

The Super Robot was flying quickly through space. Stars and planets whizzed by. Inside the robot the Monkey Team was watching their surroundings on the main computer's screen.

The alarm went off causing everyone to jump. Gibson brought the problem up on the main computer screen. They were being pulled toward an unknown planet they had been flying by. "Hyper Force go!" Chiro shouted. The Hyper Force went to their cockpits in the separate parts of the robot.

"Foot Crusher Cruiser 6, go!" Nova Shouted.

"Foot Crusher Cruiser 5, go!" Otto Shouted.

"Fist Rocket 4, go!" Gibson Shouted.

"Fist Rocket 3, go!" Sparx Shouted.

"Brain Scrambler Pilot 2, go!" Antauri Shouted.

"Torso Tank Driver 1, go!" Chiro Shouted.

"Super"

"Robot"

"Monkey"

"Team"

"Hyper"

"Force"

"Go!"

"Otto, get us out of here!" Chiro ordered.

"I'm trying!" Otto shouted back as he tried to pull them out of the planets gravity, but he was failing miserably. "No can do, Chiro! The atmospheric pull is to strong!"

The lights flickered and went out. "Otto what's going on!" Chiro cried.

"All power's down we're gonna crash!" Otto replied.

"Brace for impact," Antauri said.

The Super Robot crashed into the sandy desert ground. No one, except Antauri, was prepared for the crash, and they were knocked unconscious. Antauri tried to go use his ghost mode, but couldn't. With a sigh he went down the Brain Scrambler's tube, into the main room, then up the Torso Tank tube.

Chiro had his head on the control panel. Antauri gently shook the boy's shoulders to wake him. Chiro groaned and sat up. He placed a hand on his throbbing forehead. He felt something wet and sticky touch his hand. He moved his hand away from his forehead and looked at it (his hand). There on his palm was a warm, crimson liquid. _Blood._

Antauri quickly noted the blood on Chiro's hand and looked up into the boy's face. There on his (Chiro's) forehead was a small, but deep cut. Blood trickled down the boy's face, in between his eyes, then parted and flowed on ether side of his nose.

"Chiro are you alright?" Antauri asked.

"Yeah…. I think so, my head just hurts…." Chiro replied. He flinched when Antauri brushed his metal fingers over the cut.

"Lets go take care of your cut." Antauri said.

The two of them went down to the main room. Antauri held his arm out to stop Chiro from taking another step. "I sense the approach of four beings," Antauri said.

Chiro jumped when a grinding noise reached their ears. A hole appeared in the wall, two men climbed through the hole. They stopped when they saw Chiro and Antauri. The shorter of the two pointed at Antauri, and whispered to the taller man. The man nodded then pointed to Chiro and said something to the shorter man. Chiro's cut was forgotten.

The two men were whispering to each other, in an apparently deep conversation. Chiro and Antauri glanced at each other then back at the two men. "Um… excuse me can you tell us where we are? You see me and my monkeys accidentally crash landed here." Chiro said.

The two men seemed surprised for a moment, and then before Chiro could even blink the short man pulled out a strange machine, aimed, and fired. Antauri cried out and Chiro turned his full attention on the silver monkey. He was caught in a pink, bubble, force field thing.

"Antauri!" Chiro cried he raised his fist to punch the force field. "Thunder Punch!" nothing happened. The two men burst out laughing. Chiro panicked and his face was covered with nervous sweatdrops. "What's wrong! Why isn't the Power Primate working!"

Antauri appeared calm which was puzzling to Chiro. "I, know not, but the same thing happened to me when I tried to use my ghost mode." Antauri replied calmly.

Chiro decided he would try to free the monkey with out the Power Primate, but with his own fists. The first punch bounced back, and he hit himself in the nose. He covered his aching nose with both hands. "OW! My nose…" The men laughed hysterically at this. Chiro ignored them and focused on his injured nose. Thankfully it wasn't broken, it was just sore for the moment.

"You okay, kid?" Sparx asked.

Chiro jumped and turned around to face the red monkey. He hadn't heard Sparx and the others come down to the main room. Then in the blink of an eye the others were captured. "No!" Chiro cried in distress. He removed his hands from his nose. The injury forgotten, just like the cut.

The pink, bubbles containing his friends floated toward the short man. Chiro desperately grabbed Antuari's bubble in an attempt to prevent the men from taking the silver monkey. The short man hit a button on the strange machine, and the bubble began to let off electrical currents that shocked both Chiro and Antauri. They both cried out in pain. Chiro couldn't bare to see Antauri get hurt, and he himself couldn't endure the pain inflicted on himself, he had to let go.

The short man spoke, his voice was low and gruff. "If you want the monkeys back you'll have to win the dragon race today. The monkeys, so you know, are going to be the prize for the winner. They are fair game for every racer." The two men laughed psychotically as they left the robot, bubbles in tow. The monkeys watched the boy helplessly.

Chiro raced outside of the robot in time to catch sight of two dragons' black shapes, along with five bubble shapes, against the rising sun. The men's laughter echoed back to him. "No! Please…" he dropped to his knees. "Bring them back…" Then rage filled the empty spots he had gained when he saw the vanishing shapes. "BRING THEM BACK!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. The men's laughter faltered, then stopped all together.

Chiro stood and wiped the blood from his cut and face. Then he began to run in the direction the dragons had flown.

He ran until noon, when he had reached a town he slowed to a walk. His breath came in short, ragged, gasps, but he continued. Anyone he saw with a dragon he asked if they had a dragon he could borrow for the race. Every answer was the same: no. That is until he met Simon….

End Flash Back

**Phyco Monkey:** (sniff, sniff) that was sad…did it answer your questions Lmann? I was planning this all along.

**Icefire:** (rolls eyes) You're such a liar. You never thought about, how the Monkey Team landed on the planet or why Chiro didn't free the monkeys himself.

**Phyco Monkey:** (holds Icefire's mouth shut) Shhh! They don't need to know that!


	7. Disastrous plains

Me: Yay new chapter! Sorry it took so long. I was hoping to finish "The Hidden Pair" and this atabout the same time, but I decided to say screw that and post it all at once.

Chiro: She decided she was geting tired of writing the chapters on paper, bringing them to school, and typing them up. she's taking advantage of the flopy disc she is borrowing from her English teacher.

Declaimer: I don't own SRMTHFG! But I have kidnapped them and are holding them for a ransom of 300 billion dollars. Until the randsom is paid Chiro and themonkeys are my presoners. They are mine to do as like to them until the randsom is paid. Thank you for listening to my rambolings.

Chapter Seven: Disastrous Plains

Chiro groaned when he woke. Icefire was still galloping tirelessly, and the sky showed no sign of dawn. Chiro reached up and brushed his fingers across the cut on his head and flinched as pain throbbed from it. No one knew it was there except him and his monkeys. His wild black hair had done a good job of hiding it. The small cut had healed very little, so it still stung. The sand from the desert getting in it didn't help either.

More grass appeared as Icefire ran, soon she was chest deep in grass. She had no problem bounding through it. Icefire came across a watering hole with deer. She caught a few of the deer for her and Chiro to eat. They ate and drank their fill then continued on their way. Chiro drifted off to sleep once more.

Icefire's muscles burned from running so she slowed to a walk. The silver moon shone brightly in the ink black sky. The light illuminated the dew on the grass. A bellowing cry split the peaceful night air.

Icefire froze in her tracks. Chiro woke with a start. "What was that?" Chiro asked quietly, fear gripped his voice. The cry shattered the night air once more, this time much closer.

Icefire lowered herself to the ground in a futile attempt to hide in the grass. Obviously her bulk was much too big. She hated being a dragon with glittery violet scales that reflected the moon's pale, silver light. "A belzomar." She answered her voice barely above a whisper.

"Blezomar?"

"Its a creature about my size. It has an awfully bad temper. It has the back end of a cheetah and the front end of a bear. On its back is a pair of large dragon-like wings and attached to its paws are sharp claws. It has a horn on its forehead and one on its nose. It will attack any thing even a 100-year-old dragon. As you might, or might not know, we dragons never stop growing. And we are in tiptop shape at 100, for we are immortal. Unless we are murdered we do not die." she shuttered at the thought that a belzomar would attack such a large dragon.

Chiro could feel Icefire quivering beneath him. He stroked her neck in an attempt to calm her, but no avail. Her senses were on extra high alert. Her nostrils were flared as she smelled the air. Her leathery ears twitched at every sound. Yet she nearly jumped out of her scales when the belzomar's cry split the air. It was just to her right.

With lightning speed something jumped out of the grass from where the cry had sounded. Icefire quickly acted on instinct and lunged forward out of the beast's way. Icefire whirled about to face what had attacked. The silver moonlight shone on the beast's dew covered fur, illuminating it. Icefire's heart stopped in mid-beat, her worst fear stood before her. It was the ferocious belzomar.

The belzomar roared and launched it's self forward._ /Hold on tight Chiro/_ Chiro did as he was told, he didn't stop to think about how Icefire had told him in his mind. Icefire jumped and landed on the belzomar's back. She let her talons sink into it's back. Blood oozed from the gashes on the beast's back and stained its fur.

It screeched in pain and bucked. Icefire's talons tore even bigger wounds as she was thrown. Icefire easily landed on her feet. Her yellow-green eyes fell upon the belzomar's wing then focused on the beast it's self. _/Breathe fire, ice, something. Or fly away/_ Chiro's voice rang in her head.

_/I can't it's against the rules! You heard Simon/ _She cried as she dodged the belzomar's claws.

_/I don't think they would mind if you did it to defend yourself/_ He retorted.

_/The rules state **never** are the dragons allowed to use their fire or, in the rare case, ice breath or fly/ _Icefire stated as she ducked to avoid having her head torn off. _/Plus if you want to save your monkeys I'm unable to cheat! Now if you don't mind I need to focus on the belzomar/_

Icefire saw an opening in the belzomar's defenses and lunged. She swung her paw and it collided with its head. The belzomar shrieked as Icefire's talons left a gash across the side of its face.

The belzomar swung its enormous clawed paw at Chiro. Fear coursed through the boy and Icefire moved in the way so it slashed her neck instead. Luckily she had tough scales for armor. But the claws still pierced her flesh after it tore through the scales leaving half-inch deep wound.

_/Chiro! Are you alright? I could sense your fear./_ Antauri's voice reached Chiro's mind.

_/Yes, but I can't say the same for Icefire though.../_

_/What do you mean? What has happened/ _Chiro explained from the point where the belzomar showed up, to Antauri. _/I see.../ _Chiro kept Antauri in contact so he could see and hear what he (Chiro) saw and heard.

The rest of the fight seemed to happen in moments to Chiro. Icefire reared up and screeched in pain. This was foolish, it gave the belzomar a clear shot at her tender underbelly. The beast took the opportunity and slashed Icefire's belly. This brought her front paws to the ground.

Icefire reacted from furry and her survival instincts. Her head lashed forward and her sharp teeth sunk into the belzomar's neck. It tried to escape by squirming away but Icefire's teeth held it. The more it struggled the more pressure Icefire applied. A sickening cracking of splintering bone reached Chiro's ears.

Icefire felt the belzomar go limp and dropped it. She turned and began to walk again. Her head bent so low it almost touched the ground. Each breath was labored and every step was agonizing.

_/Chiro did you happen to notice the belzomar's left wing/_ Icefire asked mentally, for she was to exhausted and sore to use her mouth.

_/Yeah... it looked as though it had been torn by a claw./_

_/Yes, that was from... my father./_

_/Your father/_ Icefire could feel two different sources of surprise but she was too tired to care.

_/Yes, he fought the belzomar to protect my mother, my.../ _Her voice choked for a moment. A wave of immense sorrow collided with both Chiro and Antauri's minds.

_/You don't have to tell me if you don't want to/ _Chiro said.

_/No it would be better if I told both you and your monkey friend./ _Again the two sources of surprise._ /Yes I could sense your presence the whole time, I could sense your emotions./ _She paused to take a shuttering breath and flinched._/ I was going to say, my brother and I./_ She could sense more surprise. _/My father died fighting, leaving only a tattered wing for injuries on the belzomar. My mother tried to protect my brother and me. She told us to run as she started to fight. We did as we were told. We were only 100 feet away when we heard our mother's death cry... We lived on our own after that./_

_/I'm so sorry.../_ Chiro said sadly.

_/Don't be, you were not the cause of my pain./_

_/Well put, but what of your brother? Was he older, younger, twin/_ Antauri asked.

_/My brother and I were born from the same litter. Our eggs hatched at the same time. As for where he is I don't know, we were separated not long after the death of our parents. I know he is alive though... I can sense it, as dragon lings we found that we share a connection./_ Icefire stiffened as a wave of pain hit her. Antauri and Chiro felt her pain through the mind link. Icefire whimpered pitifully.

_/Icefire! Are you alright/ _Chiro cried.

_/Yes... for now. Though the smell of my blood will surely attract the attention of many vicious beasts. Now... I must focus on the race at hand./ _Before Chiro could protest Icefire closed her side of the link and focused on her surroundings.


	8. The Healing Jungle

Chapter Eight: The Healing Jungle

Despite the pain in her burning muscles and throbbing wounds, Icefire ran. She took care to keep the mind link closed so the other two would not know the pain she felt. Icefire's eyes widened as she remembered something. She opened the link _/Chiro, I know you must be hungry but in my shape I'm unable to hunt./_ Icefire could no longer sense the silver monkey's presence._ /Where's your friend? I can't sense his presence./ _

_/He had to return to the others and I don't mind you being unable to hunt. I'm not that hungry right now./ _Chiro replied. Icefire closed the mind link again.

More and more trees were beginning to appear. Soon trees surrounded the dragon and her rider, they were in the jungle. Icefire, being small, could easily squeeze in between the trees. Icefire found a clearing large enough for her to lie in.

When she stopped she lowered her head so her snout was almost touching the ground. She opened and closed her mouth as she took agonizing gasps for air. Chiro un-strapped himself from the saddle and slid from Icefire's back to the ground. Icefire collapsed onto her side.

Icefire lay on her side feeling dizzy from blood loss. Her breathing was now shallow and ragged. Chiro knelt by her large head and stroked her scaly cheek. "Icefire... is there anything I can do for your wounds? Its all my fault after all..."

Icefire lifted her head so she could look Chiro in the eye. Once again to tired to talk Icefire used the mind link. _/I don't blame you for my injuries little one. But you can help me by finding this herb./ _She sent him a mental image of a plant with star like leaves and silver flowers. _/Go find the plant and bring back plenty of its leaves. I'll give you further instructions when you come back.../_

Chiro let the "little one" slide, but he wasn't going to let her call him that forever. "Alright, but keep the mind link open just incase." Without waiting for a reply he ran off into the dense jungle.

Icefire lay there alone for what seemed like hours. She felt weaker and weaker with every drop of the precious, ruby liquid she lost. Her vision was darkening around the edges and she was feeling quite light headed and dizzy. The wounds on her neck and belly pulsed with pain. The wounds throbbed continuously. Breathing became more and more difficult for her. _/Please...hurry Chiro...I can't last much longer.../_

_/I'm trying Icefire:_ His voice was panicked and urgent. _/But I can't find- never mind I just found some./_ Silence. A sudden wave of surprise then fear came through the link. _/Icefire help/ _Chiro was in trouble.

Some how Icefire got to her feet. She felt an overwhelming amount of an instinct entirely new to her. It was an instinct all full-grown female dragons felt often. It was called the motherly instinct. Right now she felt motherly toward Chiro and that's what had encouraged her to feel the new instinct. And no smart creature would deal with a mother dragon if they could help it.

Smoke was pouring from her flared nostrils toward the starry sky abovethe trees. _/I'm coming Chiro/_ Ignoring her pain and weakness she bolted and ran at full speed. She dodged trees, jumped over rocks and logs, and crashed through the underbrush that got in her way. She could sense Chiro's location through the mind link. She followed the signal, honing in on it.

_/Please hurry Icefire/_

Chiro was backed against a large tree. A large tiger almost the same size as Icefire stood before him. It was black with red stripes. Spikes ran along it's back to the tip of it's tail. A horn rested behind its snout. It had a spiked club at the end of its tail. It had its menacing blood red eyes set on Chiro. It growled as it crouched, tail twitching. It growled again and bared its teeth. It was preparing to pounce on Chiro.

_/Chiro! What is wrong! All I can sense is your fear/_ It was Antauri. Chiro sent him a mental image of the tiger before him. _/Chiro, where is Icefire/_

_/She is on her way as we speak. Which I was surprised to hear./_ Just then Icefire came crashing through the trees. The silver moonlight reflected off her blood stained scales. _:Speak of the devil, or should I say, dragon_,_ here she is now./_

_/Exactly what did you mean by 'which I was surprised to hear'/_ Antauri asked. Chiro sent him an image of Icefire as she was standing before him, her bloody scales shining in the silver light. _/She does seem to be suffering_ _terrible wounds. /_

_/No kidding. /_ Chiro replied and opened the link wider so Antauri could hear and see what he did.

Icefire roared ferociously, her cry of fury echoed through the night air. She bolted forward so Chiro was shielded from the tiger, behind one of her forelegs. She lowered her head so she was eye level with the tiger. Icefire's eyes narrowed to slits and she growled viciously. The spines along her back, neck, and tail rose to make her look more intimidating.

The tiger was frightened only a moment before it realized that Icefire was injured. The sent of her blood filled it's flared nostrils. It roared and lunged.

Icefire stood her ground. When the tiger was close enough Icefire swung her paw and it collided with the tiger's head. She knocked the tiger over and pushed its head into the ground. She put all her weight on the beast's head thus crushing its skull. Now that the threat was over the spines on her back lowered. "Well I guess we have dinner." Icefire commented. Then she fell over sideways and landed with a loud _thud_.

Chiro hastily picked leaves from the herbal plant. "What do, I do now?"

"Put the leaves in the wounds..." Icefire closed her eyes. She flinched when Chiro did as instructed. "Eat your fill of the tiger. I will eat when I awake from my nap."

"I thought you didn't need to sleep." Chiro said playfully.

"Usually I don't, but I have to now. Sleeping helps wounds heal faster. That's why it's called a healing sleep. The herb will help speed up the healing pace..." Icefire drifted off to sleep, but not so deep that she was not alert.

Icefire opened her eyes the newly risen' sun shining through the tree branches. Chiro was waiting expectantly. "Morning!" He cried. "You were right your wounds healed really fast! There are new scales already growing in!"

Icefire couldn't help but chuckle at Chiro's enthusiasm. She stiffly got to her feet. She stretched her stiff muscles. She yawned, her long, pink tongue curled at the tip. And her sharp, white fangs gleamed in the morning's light.

Icefire sat down and started to lick her scales clean of dried blood and dirt. When she came to the more sensitive new scales she was slower and gentler. Once her violet scales sparkled in the sun she laid down again.

"There is still a lot more of the tiger left. You need strength so I think you should eat it." Chiro said. Icefire did not argue and ate the tiger.

When she had finished Icefire licked her chops free of any blood. Then gently as a mother dragon would clean its dragon ling, she began to lick Chiro. Her tongue gently cleaned Chiro's face and hands, removing the dried blood and dirt. Chiro giggled the whole time. "That tickles!"

When he was spotless Icefire stopped. "There all clean. Ready to go?" As an answer Chiro mounted and strapped himself into the saddle. Icefire stood and trotted off. Being smaller than the other dragons she had no problems weaving through the trees. The pine needles provided comfort for her paws as she trotted along.

"I'm going to go into my trance. You have to guide my body for a few minutes."

"Okay I'll try." Chiro replied hesitantly.

Icefire's eyes glazed over and Chiro used the reigns to guide the dragon through the trees. Of course it was his first time guiding a dragon, he caused Icefire to bump into trees now and then. But because of her hard scales Icefire was unharmed. She only scraped the bark off the trees.

When Icefire snapped out of her trance she stopped dead. If she had taken one more step she would have ran headfirst into a tree. She snorted, a ring of smoke came from her nostrils and rose to the treetops. "You need lessons on how to guide a dragon my friend, but not bad for your first time." She began to trot onward as she talked.

'_My friend'!_ "I'm actually your _friend_? I thought you were to proud for that sort of thing." Chiro said.

"I was," Icefire said sheepishly and ducked her head. "But I've changed my mind now, about you anyway. Your not half bad you're actually beginning to grow on me, if you know what I mean."

"Is that a bad thing? 'Cause if it is I'm afraid already." Chiro teased.

Icefire snorted. "Ha, ha, ha, your such a comedian." Icefire said sarcastically. "And yes it's a good thing. Would you rather I leave you to some monster and fly away free as a bird?" Icefire teased.

"No, I'm good!" Chiro said hastily. "By the way how did your search go?"

Icefire became less cheerful, Chiro noticed this and became concerned. "The others aren't far behind. We better get going." Her trot quickly became a full out gallop. Even at the speed she was going Icefire was able to dodge rocks and trees. Chiro leaned forward for less wind resistance.


	9. Treading in Murky Water

Chapter Nine: Treading in Murky Water

Soon the ground became more slippery so Icefire slowed to a walk to prevent herself from falling. The watery ground made squishing sounds beneath her large paws. The mud squished between her toes and the webbing in between her toes prevented her from sinking. Her feet left large impressions in the mud.

The ground was pretty much all water within an hour so Icefire was forced to swim. Her toes were spread apart so the webbing could be used as paddles. She was almost completely submerged under water; all that could bee seen was her head. This made swimming easier and she could use her large wings like giant paddles.

Icefire easily slid through the murky water. The semi-warm water slid over her violet scales. It soothed the spots where the new scales were coming in to they felt less itchy. The muddy, brown, murky water was impossible to see through. It left mud and gunk stuck in between Icefire's violet scales. Soon they no longer sparkled they had too much mud covered them.

Before they had entered the water Chiro had moved from the saddle. He now sat in between the two horns on Icefire's head so he wouldn't get wet. He held onto each horn so he would not fall. He glanced from one place to the next when he remembered what Simon had said about crocodiles.

Icefire flicked her leathery ears upward to prevent any more water from entering them. She flared her nostrils and snorted water out of her nose. She blinked her yellow-green eyes to remove the water from them.

Icefire felt Chiro suddenly tense. A wave of fear came through their mind link. She lifted her head just high enough out of the water so that she could talk "What is it Chiro?"

At first Chiro was unable to talk. When he was able to his voice quaked with fear. "C-c-c-crocodiles!" Icefire looked about and at first saw nothing. Then she saw some movement to her left. There swimming toward were crocodiles at least half her size.

When the crocodiles made the mistake of getting to close, Icefire swung her tail under the murky water. Her tail collided with the side of the green scaly lizards head. It cried out in pain and fled to get reinforcements the others followed.

"Wow, that was easy..." Chiro stated and sweat droped.

"Don't count your dragons before they hatch. They probably just went to get reinforcements from larger and much stronger crocodiles." Icefire said.

Chiro trembled in fear at what Icefire had just said. "Do you think you can beat them?"

"I don't know but I don't want to stick around to find out." With that said she swam as fast as she could.

"I see land!" Chiro cried.

Icefire swam until she was able to run on dry land. She galloped a little ways away from the swamp before she stopped. She lied down and let Chiro get off her head. He instantly went to her side and mounted, he strapped himself into the saddle.


	10. Target Practice & Flight Fights Too

Chapter Ten: Target Practice and Flight Fights Too

Icefire saw a large sign and trotted up to it. It read:

_From here on out your fire and ice breaths are aloud. Now is the time to test your accuracy. Hit as many targets as you can. You must be moving at al times at a canter at least. Be warned you are being watched._

Icefire cantered past the sign. As the red and white bull's eyes appeared she blasted it apart with either her fire or ice breath. She shot all 35 targets that had come before her.

As she continued at a canter another sign came into view. It read:

_Spread your wings you have finished the target practice. Now it is time to test your flight abilities. You have successfully finished the target course, now onto the flying course._

Icefire grinned, baring her sharp fangs. "Now here's the fun part. Oh, by the way your monkey friends can see us now just as they did during the targeting round." She cantered up to the cliff edge and stopped. The talons on her front paws dug into the rock.

"They can?" Chiro asked in surprise.

"Yes, we were probably only being watched by the racing comity up until the target part. Now if you don't mind me saying: prepare for take off!" Icefire spread her wings and leaped off the cliff. Her large wings beat the air to gain altitude.

With every beat of her gigantic wings a _thud_ reached Chiro's ears. Icefire quickly gained altitude and picked up speed. Icefire being over whelmed with the joy of flight began to hum to herself deep in her chest.

Chiro held onto the spine in front of him and listened. Drinking in the melody that reached his ears. After a few minutes Chiro asked, "do all dragons hum when they fly?"

Icefire stopped humming and replied, "No, only when we are over joied do we hum. You are lucky, little one, to hear a dragon hum is a rare treat." she resumed her humming.

After a half hour or so, Icefire was still humming merrily. "Um, hey Icefire where are the other racers?" Chiro called.

Icefire's humming ceased. "I don't know I'll check. Guide me for a little while." her large eyes became glazed as she went into her trance. Chiro took hold of the reigns. He had no idea how to guide a dragon. He ended up so the tips of Icefire's wings just brushed the ocean water below when she beat them.

Chiro was afraid they were going to crash into the cool water. He could just make out the shape of what looked like a giant snake below them. Icefire's eyes returned to normal when she snapped out of her trance. "Chiro why are we just above the water?"

Chiro sighed in relief and released the reigns. "Because I have no idea how to guide a walking dragon, let alone a flying one."

"Well you did pretty good for your first time. If some other first timer was riding me I would have crashed head first into the water." She stretched out one of her fore paws so it skimmed the surface, causing a spray of water behind her paw.

"Um, Icefire where are the other racers?"

"What? Oh they're just behind us." she pulled all of her legs as close to her body as possible. With as much speed as she could all four paws shot out striking the surface of the water. The force caused her to shoot high into the air.

Her strong wings beat the air and she quickly gained altitude. She put more strength and speed into her wing beats. She wanted to pull far ahead so she wouldn't have to meet any of the other dragons.

Soon the sound of other wing beats met the pair's ears from behind. They looked back to see a green dragon, twice the size of Icefire. Each wing had a span of 100 feet, making Chiro realize that Icefire had unusually large wings. On it's snout was a single white horn. "Its a male," Icefire informed the boy.

"How can you tell?"

"That horn on its snout. Only male dragons have those."

The male dragon roared a challenge. Icefire ignored it and looked straight ahead. A sharp pain suddenly tore at Icefire's tail. She screeched in pain and rounded on the other dragon. Her small size was perfect for her large wings. It gave her more agility, and an advantage. She dodged the other dragon's claws as he took a swipe at her. Icefire was able to slip right by the male.

She used the method she had used to push off from the water. She pulled her paws close then flung them out, striking the other dragon. One of her paws collided with the tendon that connected the wing to the shoulder.

This caused the male dragon and his rider to fall from the sky. Icefire paused, keeping her wings outstretched to allow the thermals to suspend her large weight in the air. Both Icefire and Chiro strained their ears. Soon a splash was heard below.

Icefire shifted her weight and shot off in the direction of the finish line. She pumped her wings with as much speed and strength as she possibly could muster. She flew among the clouds to hide her large body from and other dragons that might approach.

Icefire could sense Chiro's amazement through their link._ This has been an amazing race. It has been surprisingly fun. Except the near death experience that is._ A distant roaring reached her sensitive leathery ears, but she did not notice it. _To bad I won't be able to see Chiro any more..._ The roaring grew louder causing Icefire to snap out of her thoughts. It was a crowd.

Icefire flew lower to see the finish line. On either side of the landing runway were stands. Icefire tucked her wings close to her body, and rolled. When she rolled once she stopped and snapped out her wings. She beat her wings with a large amount of strength, a single time immediately to shoot her forward.

"Whoo-hoo!" Chiro threw his hands up in the air. "Lets do that again!"

Icefire chuckled. "Let us not forget we're in a race. After we cross the finish line I'll do it again."

Something black shot at them from some where around the finish line. It was a dragon. The dragon pulled up right in front of Icefire. Icefire had to halt abruptly in her flight so she would not crash.

The dragon was jet black. On it's snout was a single horn, so it was male. His blood red eyes appeared to have a fierce fire in them. The rider was wearing a long, black, hooded cloak. Whether it was a male or female could not be determined due to its cloak. The crowd went silent.

"I can not allow you to win, boy. Your monkeys must be rendered useless, so nothing can stop the Skeleton King! I shall knock you out of the sky and your monkeys wont have their precious leader anymore!" The rider began to laugh psychotically. The voice gave away the fact that the rider was male. In the silence you could hear the monkeys shouting threats at him. They had started that near the beginning of the speech. Apparently they knew many, many, threats.

Icefire sweat dropped. "Dude, that was the most corniest speech ever." This caused Chiro to laugh.

As a response the man shouted, "Blackfire, kill the boy!" the dragon launched himself forward.

Icefire dodged the live missile. "Hey, Icefire aren't you allowed to use your fire and ice breaths now?" Chiro shouted.

Icefire grinned evilly, baring her fangs. "I do believe your right." She whirled around to face Blackfire and shot a fireball at him.

The black dragon was surprised but he managed to dodge the attack. He flew at Icefire. The two dragons became locked in close combat. Their claws and teeth ripped at each other's scaly bodies.

Blackfire aimed for Icefire's new, and tender scales. Icefire didn't notice, she was too afraid that Chiro would get hurt. She opened her mouth and shot an ice ball at Blackfire. The ball hit the point where his wing and shoulder connected.

Ice covered where the ice ball had hit. It spread covering the entire wing joint making the wing useless. Blackfire roared in rage as he fell into the water below.

A few seconds latter Blackfire emerged on the head of a giant sea serpent, Blackfire was crouched on it's head. His tail twitched back and forth in annoyance. His fiery eyes glared up at them, and smoke streamed from his nostrils.


	11. And Here it Ends

Chapter Eleven: And Here it Ends

Icefire continued to fly in the direction of the finish line. The sound of many wing beats reached their ears, signaling that the other racers were catching up. This encouraged Icefire to fly faster. "You can do it Icefire!" Chiro cried.

His faith caused a new form of energy to flow through her veins. It flowed through her aching muscles, relieving her of stress. She felt completely refreshed, and some how she knew how to release that immense energy in a concentrated from.

Icefire pulled her legs close to her body for less wind resistance. "Lean forward and lie against my neck for less wind resistance." Chiro complied, and Icefire stretched out her long neck. She folded her large wings close to her body and shot forward. A violet transparent shield formed in front of her.

She shot passed the finish line. When Icefire snapped out her wings the shield vanished. Icefire shifted her weight so her tail almost touched the ground, and the rest of her body was aligned with her tail. She beat her wings forward and up to stop her forward momentum.

Once she had halted she flew back to the finish line, and landed on her hind legs first then brought her forelegs down. Simon was there along with the racing comity chairman. "As winner of this race you have won these strange and foreign beasts." the chairman said, as he gestured to the cage containing the five bionic monkeys.

"We're not beasts!" the red monkey cried indignantly. Of course every human other then Chiro thought he was chattering nonsense.

Chiro un-strapped himself from the saddle with haste, he slid to the ground and ran up to the chairman. "Where are the keys to the cage.?"

"Here, my dear boy." The man handed over the keys.

Chiro instantly ran to the cage and unlocked it. The monkeys scrambled out of the cage and surrounded him. They chattered excitedly and hugged the boy one by one.

"Do you mind removing the chip they implanted in our heads?" the red monkey asked.

"Chips?" Chiro tilted his head. "What are the chips for?"

"They put the chips in to prevent us from activating our weapons." The blue monkey explained. Chiro quickly removed the special chips from their heads.

"Hey, Chiro," Icefire called. "If I recall correctly I promised you something." Chiro looked at her, a confused expression on his face. Then it lit up suddenly and he mounted her. Icefire waited until he was strapped into the saddle before she took to the air.

She flew around the stands, being careful not to stray to far. She tucked her wings to her body and rolled through the air. Chiro laughed and whooped the whole time. When Icefire righted herself and landed Chiro was disappointed. "Aww is it over already?"

Icefire chuckled, "Yes, my friend. You're going to have to leave soon." Chiro dismounted and rejoined the monkeys.

Icefire turned her attention to Simon. He had a satisfied smile on his face, this confused her. She went to him and lowered her large head, and nudged him in the chest with her large snout.

Wordlessly Simon removed the bridle from her head. Then went and removed the saddle. Icefire thought he was just doing as the other racers did, but boy was she wrong. "You're free Icefire."

Icefire and Chiro were taken aback. "Icefire you're free!" Chiro exclaimed. Icefire only appeared to stunned to do anything. "Hey, Simon what does it mean if a dragon talks to you using telepathy?"

Now it was Simon's turn to be surprised. "I don't know. Dragons hold many strange powers and abilities that even they don't know of. I've honestly never heard of a dragon speaking through telepathy or seen one use that strange power she had at the end of the race. Dragons are very mysterious creatures."

Icefire sighed and turned her head to the boy. "What do you say to riding a dragon bare back?"

"Really?" Chiro began to bounce up and down with excitement.

"Really, really. Hop on I'll bring you to your ship. You can guide me to your ship with your mind."

Chiro nodded, and was about to climb onto Icefire's back but Antauri's voice stopped him. "Chiro, how is your cut? Can I take a look at it?" Chiro was startled that Antauri remembered it. He knelt and the silver monkey brushed some of the boy's wild hair out of the way. Chiro flinched when the metal fingers brushed the cut. "Gibson can you take a quick look at it?"

"Sure." the blue monkey came over and the silver monkey stepped aside. Gibson stared at the cut and traced it with his fingers. Every time the metal fingers brushed it the boy would flinch. "It appears to have become badly infected. It should have been cared for the minute it was discovered.

Icefire came forward. "I can heal that I think." they looked at her in surprise. Chiro who trusted her with his life did not hesitate, he turned to face the female dragon. Icefire lowered her head and touched the infected cut with her snout. Chiro flinched but did not move.

Icefire drew her dragon power to her. She closed her large yellow-green eyes. She felt a tingly feeling envelope the part of her nose that touched Chiro's forehead. When the tingle had ceased she opened her eyes and moved her head. The cut was gone. Chiro smiled at her, "Thanks."

Icefire crouched so her passengers could climb aboard. Her large head rested on the ground. Her body still ached from their long race, but she didn't really feel it. "I call shot gun!" the green monkey cried and scrambled onto her head and sat as Chiro had when they were in the swamp.

About 4 days ago she never would have imagined doing this, but the past isn't what mattered to her. What mattered is what was happening at that moment. She knew her new and only friend was soon leaving her, but it was his destiny. She had to let him go, no matter how hard it was on her.

Once everyone was settled Icefire stood. She turned her head to look at Simon. "I'll be back so keep my stall open for me." A surprised expression etched it's self into his features. Icefire grinned and leaped into the air. Her wings beat at the air and Chiro used his mind to guide her.

After a little while Chiro asked, "hey, Icefire can I ask you something?"

"Ask away."

He lied along her neck and watched the now pink clouds roll by. "Would you hum like you did the first time we flew?"

This question took her by surprise. "I'm afraid I'm too depressed..." She could sense his disappointment. "But I'll do it one last time." joy flowed through his side of the link.

Before Icefire started to hum Chiro asked, "Why are you depressed?"

"Because I won't be able to see you again and I'll miss you..."

"Don't worry Icefire, we'll come back and visit. I promise."

Icefire felt happier and allowed waves of gratitude and happiness flow the link. Like before she began to hum deep in her chest. Without thinking she switched from humming to singing in dragon tongue. The others listened, no one made a sound until they were sure she had finished singing. "That was beautiful...I didn't understand a word you sang, but it was beautiful." Chiro said in awe.

"I can sing it your language if you'd like."

"I'd like that, and let me guess: its even rarer to hear a dragon sing then hum."

Icefire chuckled and began to sing:

How can you see into my eyes like open doors

Leading you down into my core

Where I've become so numb without a soul

My spirit sleeping somewhere cold

Until you find it there and lead it back home

Wake me up inside

Wake me up inside

Call my name and save me from the dark

Bid my blood to run before I come undone

Save me from the nothing I've become

Now that I know what I'm without

You can't just leave me

Breathe into me and make me real

Bring me to life

Wake me up inside

Wake me up inside

Call my name and save me from the dark

Bid my blood to run before I come undone

Save me from the nothing I've become

Bring... me... to... life...

Bring... me... to... life...

Frozen inside without your touch without your love

Darling only you are the life among the dead

All this time I can't believe I couldn't see

Kept in the dark but you were there in front of me

I've been sleeping a thousand years it seems

Got to open my eyes to everything

Without a thought without a voice without a soul

Don't let me die here there must be something more

Bring me to life

Wake me up inside

Wake me up inside

Call my name and save me from the dark

Bid my blood to run before I come undone

Save me from the nothing I've become

Bring... me... to... life...

Bring... me... to... life...

"Wow that sounded as good as if it were in dragon tongue. Could you explain the meaning of it though?" Chiro said.

"It means you can tell what I'm feeling and that before I met you I felt empty. Almost as though I was missing a part of myself."

"Oh..."

"Look there's the Super robot." Gibson said.

Icefire made her decent, and carefully landed, so she wouldn't shake her passengers too much. Icefire crouched, and the Monkey Team climbed off her back. "Dose your "Super Robot" have any power?" she asked.

"No," the green monkey replied, "by the way I'm Otto."

"I'm Nova," the yellow monkey said.

"The name's SPRX-77, but you can call me Sparx." the red monkey said.

"And you're Antauri, and your Gibson." Icefire said as she pointed to each one in turn using the hand-like appendage on her wing. The two monkeys nodded. "Okay now, lets see what I can do about your powerless robot."

"But what can you do?" Chiro asked.

"Didn't you hear what Simon said? He said that we dragons have power that we don't even understand. But for your information, people are always using the dragon fire as power sources. Stand back." the Hyper Force did as she ordered and stood behind her.

Icefire shout a bright blue fireball that entered the robot's hyper armor. The robot glowed blue for a minute before it's colored returned to normal. Icefire nodded to herself and snorted a smoke ring.

"You're able to leave any time you want now." the monkeys headed toward the robot, but Chiro didn't move. The monkeys stopped and turned to see Icefire and Chiro facing each other. Icefire lowered her large head.

Chiro wrapped his arms around her muzzle. "I'll miss you Icefire."

"I know, little one, I'll miss you too." Icefire shed a single silver tear. Chiro reached out and caught the tear as it fell. It landed in the center of the palm of his hand. The moment the tear made contact with his skin it hardened into a glassy like substance in the shape of a teardrop. Inside the teardrop a small flame burned.

Chiro closed his hand over it. Warmth spread through his body. He realized that the warmth he felt came from the teardrop. It was a symbol of Icefire's love. He opened his hand again to look at the smooth, silvery surface.

Chiro's eyes widened as a silver string formed at the smaller tip of the teardrop. Chiro slipped the silver string over his head. He tucked the teardrop inside his shirt. It felt warm on his bare chest.

"Consider it a gift." Icefire said, and Chiro redirected his attention to her. "It will keep you warm when you need warmth. It will give you light in the darkest abyss if you need light.

Chiro nodded to show he understood. "Thanks, Icefire."

Icefire licked his cheek with the tip of her tongue and he understood. "Go now, little one, you need to be on your way."

Chiro kissed her snout, and then, with tears in his eyes, he ran to his monkeys, who had been watching him silently. His monkeys filed into the robot. He stopped in the doorway and looked back. Icefire made a motion with her head telling him to go on. He understood the motion perfectly and stepped sullenly inside. the door closed automatically behind him.

Icefire stepped back and the giant robot took off. Icefire leaped into the air and flew along side it until she could go no higher. Then she was forced to watch it disappear into the starry sky. Once the robot left her line of vision she flew slowly toward the city.

She flew passed the buildings and went directly to the stables Simon owned. She landed about 10 feet away from her stall. The door was open and there was a fresh pine shavings on the floor. Simon stood there leaning on the doorframe. She walked up to Simon and lowered her head.

Simon stroked her violet muzzle, "Why do you want to stay? I thought you wanted to be free."

"I did, but now I don't think I can go without human contact." She admitted sheepishly.

Simon smiled, "I understand. I'm glad you met someone who changed the way you feel toward us, humans." He stepped aside. Icefire immediately stepped inside and turned around so she faced the door. She lied down and made herself comfortable on the padded floor. "Would you like me to leave the door open?"

"Yes, thank you. I'd like to watch the stars as I await his return." Simon didn't need her to specify who "him" was. It was rather obvious. Icefire rested her head on her paws and closed her eyes. Though it had only been 4 days since she had last slept she was still weary. The race left her feeling sore and exhausted. She easily drifted of to sleep. Where her dreams were of Chiro's return.

"Goodnight, Icefire." Simon said. He glanced up into the starry sky just as a shooting star streaked across the sky. He smiled to himself, he knew that was no ordinary shooting star, containing one extraordinary boy and five monkeys. Simon walked away, leaving a dragon to her dreams.

End


End file.
